Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to answer a set of questions related to "Kompetenz", "Beruf" and the German Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning. What is a competence, can it be measured? Is the "Beruf" really endangered by the focus on learning outcomes? What are the implications as regards the…

Informal learning and its validation has become a major issue in European and national education policy, raising the following questions. May learning be constituent for political action? Is learning the focus of validation? Is informality a feature of learning? Is implicit learning solely related to informality? To give answers, a general…

In the context of the emerging paradigm of Lifelong Learning, competence-based learning is gradually attracting the attention of the Technology-Enhanced Learning community, since it appears to meet the 21st Century learning and training expectations of both individuals and organisations. On the other hand, the paradigm of Learning Objects--as a…

This empirical study employed the inductive qualitative research method with four faculty who retired from a private, religiously-affiliated, Midwestern university. Participants possessed diverging experiences and representative prototypes. The literature suggests that higher education likely will experience significant numbers of retired faculty…

For most students, summer means "break." It's a chance to put down the books, rest and recharge, attend camp as a participant or a counselor, earn some extra spending money with a summer job, perhaps travel with the family--in general, get away from all things academic. For teachers, the summer can stand for the same thing: vacation, in one form…

The pilot phase of Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU), a "grassroots" open educational project aimed at creating a new model for lifelong learning is now underway. Billing itself as an institution which promotes "learning for everyone, by everyone, about almost anything", P2PU is seeking to provide high-quality, low-cost educational opportunities by…

"Report of a Workshop on the Scope and Nature of Computational Thinking" presents a number of perspectives on the definition and applicability of computational thinking. For example, one idea expressed during the workshop is that computational thinking is a fundamental analytical skill that everyone can use to help solve problems, design…

This paper proposes 15 principles of educational intervention for developing vocationalised moral values for workplaces. The principles are drawn from a study of 14 construction workers in Queensland, Australia and draws from their understanding and perception of vocational moral development. The paper proposes these principles as a basis for…

The university's role in the nation's economy is to increase its ability to transfer research to industry, generate new inventions and patents, and spin-off its technology in the form of startup companies. As such, there has been a movement in the USA and around the world to make universities "engines of innovation", and to enhance their ability…

In her well-known research, Carol Dweck has documented how individuals' attitudes about intelligence affect their behavior and achievement. People with a fixed mindset, she writes, believe that intelligence is inborn and unchangeable, whereas those with a growth mindset believe that intelligence can grow through practice and effort. In this…

Strong societal requirements and consumer acceptance are the driving force of nanotechnology development. The necessity for qualified experts and strong demand on education in the multi-, trans- and interdisciplinary field of nanotechnology is a logical consequence of this driving force. There is the need for a comprehensive national…

With an election looming and big cuts to public spending on the way, policy proposals that involve spending large sums of new money are unlikely to be well received by politicians. So what questions for candidates might adult educators have in their pockets and put to prospective parliamentarians as they join the throng in the local school? The…

By the end of 2010 over 15 million euros will have been allocated in the UK through the Grundtvig adult learning programme. Over 900 organisations and thousands of staff, individuals and learners involved in adult education have benefitted. Grundtvig has helped to enhance the quality of learning provision; widen perspectives; increase motivation;…

As non-teacher training courses in UK higher education in Education Studies have grown and developed in recent years they have received enormous interest. All of these Education Studies degrees claim to integrate a number of disciplines using an interdisciplinary or a multidisciplinary paradigm. Traditionally the systematic integration of…

When the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) first released the new Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, controversy arose because many school librarians thought that they were vague and de-emphasized information skill instruction. Many school librarians had trouble visualizing how the program would be applied in their school and…